About Us
Arts and Humanities
Why Entrepreneurship Matters
A Message from the Director
The word "entrepreneurship" means different things to different people. Many think of it mainly in terms of small businesses launched by gutsy people as a ladder to a different lifestyle: one with more independence, more creativity or control in their work, and, if they're lucky, more money.
That scenario is one aspect of entrepreneurship, but it doesn't come close to capturing all that entrepreneurship does and why it's essential in today's communities and economies. To truly understand entrepreneurship, consider what entrepreneurship education is. At the McGuire Center, we teach lifelong skills for lifelong outcomes: problem-solving, innovative thinking, analytics, communication, collaboration and co-creation.
It's true that these skills would help someone open a restaurant or retail store. But more broadly, they're also the skills needed to identify needs in a community, to see opportunities in an economy, to make intelligent decisions about how to allocate resources or tackle problems. They are the skills to lead change and make a positive difference in any professional role and in all spheres of endeavor: business, health, sustainability, research, social justice — the list doesn't end.
Because we understand those far-reaching effects of innovation, we realize that we have a responsibility to consider how we'll affect the world beyond earnings and how we can ensure that our impact is for the better. This understanding is woven throughout the requirements of the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program and is one of many elements that distinguish the unique brand of entrepreneurship education at the McGuire Center.
Our students move through a program that is a tightly integrated mix of traditional instruction, independent study, cross-college training, hands-on business development and investor relations. It's real-world education, along with the real-world necessity of seeing the bigger picture, identifying the multiple alternate values of ventures and transcending traditional business-focused boundaries to intersect other fields.
That transcendence marks another hallmark of our approach to entrepreneurship education: it is highly accessible and always expanding, and includes graduate and undergraduate students, extension and outreach, as well as elective and stand-alone courses in the arts, engineering, law, health and medicine, and the physical and social sciences. All of these fields converge in quality of life. All of these fields have something to contribute in making stronger communities and healthier economies. And that brings us full circle, back to the idea of entrepreneurship as a way to make money.
Taking a slight more nuanced cast on that idea, we see entrepreneurship education as teaching students how to develop economically viable solutions. Such solutions are a means to personal profit, but more importantly, they are at the heart of all regeneration and sustained well-being. This is what "entrepreneurship" means at the McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship.
Established in 1984, we were one of the first university-based centers for entrepreneurship. We are one of the few centers to consistently maintain top rankings in all major assessments, and today, we are a National Model Program of the United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship and a NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
I invite you to explore this site and discover a broad and powerful approach to entrepreneurship education, research and the McGuire Center's role in strengthening local, regional and state economies and advancing entrepreneurship education nationwide.
About the McGuire Center
The McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship was established in 1984. One of the first university-based centers for entrepreneurship, the center is one of the few to consistently maintain top tier ranking status.
Rankings and awards include #2 public undergraduate and #1 public graduate nationally by Entrepreneur / Princeton Review; #6 globally by Financial Times; #4 among public undergraduate programs and #6 among public graduate programs by U.S. News and World Report; National Model Program by United States Association for Small Business and Entrepreneurship; and NASDAQ Center for Entrepreneurial Excellence.
The Center houses the McGuire Entrepreneurship Program, open to graduate and undergraduate students from across the university, a variety of elective and stand alone courses, robust research agenda, and a rich community service mandate.
The Center is committed to enabling and advancing entrepreneurial goals of all university populations, and to advancing the understanding of the influence and role of entrepreneurship in both the business and academic communities.
Beyond the McGuire Center
For over two decades, the McGuire Center for entrepreneurship was the home to entrepreneurship at The University of Arizona. Today, we are pleased to say that is not the case! Through the vision and commitment of partners and supporters throughout the university, entrepreneurship offerings exist in a range of departments, colleges, and fields of study.
As you explore this site, you will find information related to other offerings, and links to programs that may fit your needs, whether you are a student, faculty, or community member with an interest in any of the following areas, you will find something for you. Keep in touch — new offerings are brought to life each semester!
- Arts and humanities
- Business
- Engineering
- Extension, outreach, and distance learning
- Law
- Medicine and health sciences
- Science
- Social sciences
If you are affiliated with an offering that we have not featured, please let us know so that it can be included.
Thank you for visiting.
Sherry Hoskinson
Managing Director
McGuire Center for Entrepreneurship
For additional information, view our brochure or contact us.
